Zeenews Bureau
Srinagar: In one of the most tragic incidents, 17 Army personnel, including an officer, were on Monday killed and 17 seriously injured when a group of about 350 men were swept away by a snow avalanche while setting up a winter warfare camp at Khilanmarg, 70 kms from here.
The avalanche came down on a 60-strong group as they were
going up the sheer ice walls in Khilanmarg with near zero
visibility hampering any evasive action by them.
An Army spokesman, Colonel J S Brar, said that
17 men were buried in tonnes of snow and 17 others were
extricated while 26 were rescued by
nightfall, after which the operations were called off.
"A massive avalanche rolled down the Khilanmarg mountain, engulfing a high altitude warfare camp set up by the Army," the official said.
The injured, all in serious condition, were admitted to
the Army hospital here, he said. He said the troops had left Gulmarg at 0800 hrs and
after traversing eight-km uphill reached Khilanmarg to set up
the training camp when the avalanche struck the mountainous
area.
The dead included an officer, Lt Prateek, and 14 other
ranks from the Army's prestigious High Altitude Warfare
School (HAWS), he said.
Some of those seriously injured are in a critical condition in a hospital in the scenic tourist spot of Gulmarg.
The group comprising nearly 350 personnel had set out at 0800 hours this morning from Gulmarg and reached Khilanmarg eight kms uphill at a height of over 10,000 feet to set up a winter warfare training camp when they were hit by an avalanche, Col Brar said.
Visiting the spot, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Nasir Aslam Wani informed Zee News that no tourists were trapped in the rubble. He said at least 70 people have been rescued and 12 are seriously injured.
"I am hearing about the tragic death of army personnel in
the avalanche," Defence Minister A K Antony said in a
statement.
He expressed "deep anguish" in a condolence message to
the families of the deceased and to the army units which lost
its men.
Antony also urged the army and local authorities to
expedite rescue operations and provide adequate medical aid to
the injured.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said two
army personnel were still missing and search operations would
resume tomorrow morning.
Gulmarg and its surrounding areas have been receiving unprecedented snowfall for the past two days with reports of six-feet of snow in certain areas.
Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) had issued an avalanche warning last evening and advised people living in high altitude areas not to venture out as the area was getting heavy snowfall.
-Agencies inputs
First Published: Tuesday, February 09, 2010, 09:59